Author Interviews

I am a husband, father, entrepreneur, police officer, military veteran, adventure seeker and writer. One of my favorite authors, Steven Pressfield, wrote, “I was born this way… I was detached. I felt like another person was inside me. This other person was me, only stronger and crueler, more cunning and more deadly. I never told anyone about this secret me. I was afraid they might think I was crazy, or try to take this other me away, or convince me that I should be ashamed of him. I wasn’t. I loved him.

I write under four pen names depending on the relevant genres. J.J. Cade is the name for Moving the Force and Jubilee Ki. I also have a brand, ‘Bland on the Run Books.’ My writing includes ghostwriting non-fiction and editing.

On November 28, 2016, I lost my wife and both of my daughters in the wildfire that consumed Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As I have stumbled and crawled down this unstable, broken road of grief, I have learned many lessons along the way. I have learned that trauma, pain, loss, and grief are universal, almost like a mutually understood, unspoken language. Regardless of who you lost, whether it be a parent, friend, spouse, child, grandparent, mentor, or even a beloved pet, the feelings associated with losing someone you love can change your life forever.

c.b.strul is the author of The Ancient Ones, CONNECTIVITY, and Papillon IV and founder of Odom’s Library. He also has in print three novellas: Spinners, Forget the Complex, and What Grows from the Stump of a Tree?, as well as the short story “The Last Trucker.” His short play Leading the Blind was produced in Los Angeles by the former artist organization ImageneseFree. His three-minute short films as well as the animated feature screenplay for Critter Crossing have received awards and recognition at multiple festivals in California and around the world.

I work on the rigs (my next book is a fiction book based on this), but as it was recently described, I seem to end up doing a lot of “side quests”. I was an extra in Gladiator 2, and was in the series Bodies on Netflix. I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro, skydived several times, and competed in a white collar boxing fight. I’m a very “why not?” type of person and this often leaves me either in trouble or in adventure.

I’m seventy-five years old and this is my first book. I spent over forty years as a carpenter, then a builder, then a developer, then back to being a carpenter. My only writing was contracts and specifications for my construction business. Very early as a teen, I had a torrid writing relationship with a girl I met on a vacation. I recently spoke with her and she told me she still has those letters. It would be fun to see them now.

Maria A. Arana is a writer, poet, and editor from the Los Angeles area. She has published many poems and short stories in various publications. Formerly a teacher who encouraged a love of reading and writing, she now channels that passion to create magical stories for a wider audience. She lives with her family, four dogs, and one cat (who thinks she’s a queen herself).

Tabitha Winters is a practicing LMHC with a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a PhD in sarcasm. A sought-after lecturer on the psychology circuit, she currently works within her state’s mental health litigation division, and before she knew better? She served as co-leader of the Murderer’s Support Group, which is exactly as glamorous as it sounds.

Ellen Graham’s writing focuses on the West and stories of open spaces, both on the land and in the heart. A prize-winner in Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers, she has also been published in Narrative, High Desert Journal, Everyday Fiction, Concrete Desert Review, Epiphany, and On the Run. She is at work on a series of stories about what happens in and around Utah.

Thomas Penn Johnson was born on August 22, 1943, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He holds a BA in Classical Studies (1966) from then-Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana; an MA in English from UNC-G (1968); an ABD in English (1973) at Syracuse University; and an MA in history from Wake Forest University (1982). In 2009, he retired from then-Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida, after serving for twenty-six years as an instructor of English and humanities.

Chace Boswell lives in the beautiful mountains of southwestern Virginia with his two teenage daughters. He is the author of the novel The Awakened, the poetry collection Forwards, Backwards and Everything In Between, and the short story collection Twisted Limbs. He is currently working on a new novel and a poetry collection.

Trae Vincent spins cozy mysteries and fantastical adventures with a dash of magic and a wink of mischief. The pen name honors her grandfather, Vincent, who first sparked her love of storytelling; “Trae” is a lifelong nickname that keeps the heart of her writing close to home.

Chantal Dalton is a “recovering” poet. She has returned to writing poetry after a long hiatus and is delighted to rediscover her poetic voice. Ms. Dalton is a graduate of Bates College (BA) and has a master’s degree in American Literature from Northwestern University. In addition, she has a Master’s of Science Degree in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University, National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, DC.

Sierra DenBoer is a 16-year-old writer who is working on the series The Umbral Gates. She has finished four YA fantasy/sci-fi books and plans to start publishing soon. She grew up in Long Beach, California, but now lives in the Chicago area, where she is dual-enrolled at a local college. To help her understand and develop her characters, she likes picking up their hobbies, such as knife-throwing, coding, and lock-picking.

Vicky Pinpin-Feinstein is a writer, former college lecturer, communications technology and society professional, and author of A Thousand Little Deaths, an account of her experience growing up under the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines. With graduate degrees in the Social Sciences, her career focused on media and society at various institutions. Working with refugees inspired her to write Beyond Fear and Suspicion. She received an Individual Artist and Scholar Award from the Montgomery Arts and Humanities Council. Vicky lives by her motto that life is a curious mix of a love for organization and randomness.

Norman Coutts was born on May 6, 1953, and grew up on a farm just outside Toronto. He studied Radio and Television at Ryerson Polytechnical University and went on to work in the television and film industry, holding roles such as stage carpenter, stagehand, floor director, and eventually first assistant director in film. He comes from a large family with three brothers and two sisters. His mother passed away when he was just two years old—a loss that continues to shape his reflections and writing. The Naked Sailor is his debut book, and he is currently working on a long-gestating family memoir.

Riley Ray is a poet, writer, and published author whose work delves deep into love, loss, and healing. His poetry collections, Cliffhanger and Swimming in Chaos, unravel the raw aftermath of losing a loved one to suicide, blending prose and poetry to tell his story unfiltered and unapologetically.

Shannon Mori is an internationally sold children’s book author. Her Pawsome Pals book series features pets with problems and their pals that help their pets sort through them. Shannon has had a passion for writing and a love of animals since she was a child. Combining both into books that children and their parents not only will love to read, but also will learn something about themselves, others, and the world around them at the same time is her dream come true! Her incredibly supportive husband and her two bright young children, who love reading as much as she does, are her inspiration. After living all over the U.S. with a love for new adventures and travel, Shannon and her family, which include their beloved pets, now reside near the lake in the beautiful Ozark mountains of Missouri.

For over twenty-six years, Travis Hupp has been writing poetry about resilience, God, breaking free of oppressive structures, good trips, bad trips, love in its myriad forms, quantum physics, nature and the color blue, among other topics. American Entropy is his third book. His other two, Faster, Annihilators! and Sin and I, are also available on Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.

Kole Kealey is a poet renowned for her brave and vulnerable explorations of the human experience. Her second poetry collection, Sunflowers Sting, continues the powerful narrative established in her debut, Perfume and Cigarettes, by navigating the complex terrain of trauma, mental illness, and the path to self-acceptance.